Neighboring sounds

On a quiet city block in the coastal city of Recife, ruled by an aging patriarch and his sons, a recent spate of petty crime has rattled the nerves of the well-to-do residents. When a mysterious security firm is brought in to watch over the neighborhood, it sparks the fears and anxieties of a divided society still haunted by its past.

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The summary given on the movie case is not what the movie actually covers. It was interesting about people who live in a specific section and the actions and finally the end kind of 'puts it together' of the reason why. Some interesting shots of areas.

Director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s gorgeously framed dreamscape begins with a private security firm being hired to patrol a middle-class Recife neighbourhood after a few episodes of vandalism. From this simple starting point Filho goes on to explore the mindset of the street’s various residents where everyone seems to live within gated communities, gated homes, and gated families. Mundane domestic scenes are paired with a suspenseful score and jarring sound effects to give the film an oddly disjointed monster movie feel as we see faint ghosts of Brazil’s colonial past continue to haunt its emerging consumer culture; a mysterious black child hides in a tree outside a posh apartment complex, two grown women fight over who has the biggest television set, and a young girl’s nightmare involves faceless hordes jumping a security fence in order to steal her family. Filmed with slow surreal takes and just the slightest hint of contemporary paranoia, Neighbouring Sounds plays like a Latin hybrid of Gus van Sant and Michael Haneke. Brilliant!

A film that evokes the sense of fear and foreboding.in the manner Italian films of Fellini and others of post WWII introduced to filmmaking. Film, because of these artists, became a true art form Using cinematic techniques in a very sensual way, that is through most senses, this film tells of the feelings Brazian people of the dictatorship era still habor today. A great film for a first effort of a new filmmaker.

This debut film by Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho is a 'must-see' for lovers of international cinema. It is over 2 hours long, slow, and at times seems to lack a tight plot. But the details in the daily lives of a number of people living in a middle-class apartment complex are interesting to an outsider like me. As a bonus it also taught me how a washing machine can give great pleasure to a woman. Highly recommended for the right audience.